Russo-Georgian War

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For the 1921 war, see Red Army invasion of Georgia.
Russo-Georgian War
Part of the AbkhazGeorgian conflict and the GeorgianOssetian conflict
2008 South Ossetia war en.svg
Location of Georgia (including Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and Russian North
Caucasus
Date 712 August 2008 (5 days)
Location Georgia
South Ossetia
Abkhazia
Result
Russian, South Ossetian and Abkhaz military victory

Expulsion of ethnic Georgians from South Ossetia and the Kodori Gorge[1][2]
Recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by Russia[3]
Russian military bases established in Abkhazia and South Ossetia[4]
Territorial
changes Georgia loses control of parts of Abkhazia and former South Ossetian AO
Belligerents
Russia
South Ossetia[note 1]
Abkhazia[note 2] Georgia
Commanders and leaders
Russia Dmitry Medvedev
Russia Anatoliy Serdyukov
Russia Vladimir Boldyrev
Russia Marat Kulakhmetov
Russia Vladimir Shamanov
Russia Vyacheslav Borisov
Russia A. Khrulyov (WIA)
South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity
South Ossetia Vasily Lunev (ru)
South Ossetia Anatoly Barankevich (ru)
Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh
Abkhazia Mirab Kishmaria
Abkhazia Anatoly Innokentyevich Zaitsev (ru) Georgia (country) Mikheil
Saakashvili
Georgia (country) Davit Kezerashvili
Georgia (country) Zaza Gogava
Georgia (country) Mamuka Kurashvili
Georgia (country) David Nairashvili
Georgia (country) Alexandre Lomaia
Georgia (country) Vano Merabishvili
Strength
Russia In South Ossetia
58th Army
(About 70,000 soldiers)[5][6]
Russian Airborne Troops
4th Air Force Command
42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division
Spetsnaz GRU
Chechen mercenaries
In Abkhazia
7th Guards Airborne Division
76th Guards Air Assault Division
Black Sea Fleet
Total 9,000 soldiers.[7][8]
South Ossetia 3,000 regular soldiers.[9]
Abkhazia 1,000 special troops.[10] Georgia (country) Georgian Armed Forces
In South Ossetia
10,00011,000 soldiers (including MIA Special Forces)[11]
10,000 reservists mobilised.[5]
In Iraq
2,000 soldiers.[12]
Ministry of Internal Affairs
c.5,000 MIA Police Officers.[13]
Casualties and losses
Russia Russia

Killed 67[14]
Wounded 283[15]
MIA 3[15]
POWs 12[16]
South Ossetia South Ossetia

POWs 27[13]
Ministry of Defence

Killed 27[17]
Wounded 69[18]
Ministry of Internal Affairs

Killed 10[17]
Ossetian reserves

Killed c.50[17]
Abkhazia Abkhazia

Killed 1[19]
Wounded 2[17]
Georgia (country) Georgia
Georgian Armed Forces

Killed 169[20]
Wounded 947[21]
MIA 1[20]
POWs 39[13]
Ministry of Internal Affairs

Killed 11[21]
Wounded 227[21]
MIA 3[21]
POWs 10[13]
Civilian casualties
South Ossetia 162, according to Russia;[22] 365, according to South Ossetia;[23]
[24] 255 wounded, according to Russia[22]
Georgia 224 civilians killed and 15 missing, 547 injured[21]
One foreign civilian killed and 3 wounded[25]

Refugees
192,000 civilians displaced,[26] (including 30,000 South Ossetians that moved to
Russia; and 15,000 Georgians from South Ossetia per UNHCR that moved to Georgia
proper).[27] Estimate by Georgian official at least 230,000.[28]
[show] v t e
Post-Soviet conflicts
[show] v t e
GeorgianOssetian conflict
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Russo-Georgian War
Russo-Georgian War
Georgia, Ossetia, Russia and Abkhazia (en).svg
Main topics
Background
Prelude
Timeline
Responsibility
Information war
Cyberattacks
International reaction
Protests
Humanitarian impact response
Financial impact
Infrastructure damage
Reconstruction efforts
International recognition of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia
Occupied territories of Georgia
Related topics
GeorgianOssetian conflict
GeorgianAbkhaz conflict
2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
Georgia (country) Abkhazia South Ossetia Russia
v t e
The Russo-Georgian War was a war between Georgia, Russia and the Russian-backed
self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.[note 3] The war took place
in August 2008 following a period of worsening relations between Russia and
Georgia, both formerly constituent republics of the Soviet Union. The fighting took
place in the strategically important Transcaucasia region. It was regarded as the
first European war of the 21st century.[29]

The Republic of Georgia declared its independence in early 1991 as the Soviet Union
began to fall apart. Amidst this backdrop, a war between Georgia and separatists
left parts of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast under the de facto
control of Russian-backed but internationally unrecognised separatists. Following
the war, a joint peacekeeping force of Georgian, Russian, and Ossetian troops was
stationed in the territory. Meanwhile, a similar stalemate developed in the region
of Abkhazia, where Abkhaz separatists had waged their own war in 19921993.
Following Vladimir Putin's rise to power in Russia in 2000 and a pro-Western change
of power in Georgia in 2003, relations between Russia and Georgia began to
deteriorate, reaching a full diplomatic crisis by April 2008. By 1 August 2008,
Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages, with a sporadic response
from Georgian peacekeepers in the region. To put an end to these deadly attacks and
restore order, the Georgian Army was sent to the South Ossetian conflict zone on 7
August.[30] Georgians took control of most of Tskhinvali, a separatist stronghold,
in hours. Georgia later stated it was also responding to Russia moving non-
peacekeeping units into the country.

Russia viewed Georgia's actions as aggression against South Ossetia[30] and

launched a large-scale land, air and sea invasion of Georgia on 8 August with the
stated goal of peace enforcement.[31] Russian and Ossetian forces battled Georgian
forces in and around South Ossetia for several days, until Georgian forces
retreated. Russian and Abkhaz forces opened a second front by attacking the Kodori
Gorge held by Georgia. Russian naval forces blockaded part of the Georgian coast.
The Russian air force attacked targets beyond the conflict zone, in undisputed
parts of Georgia. This was the first war in history in which cyber warfare
coincided with military action. An active information war was also waged during and
after the conflict. The French presidency of the European Union, in the person of
Nicolas Sarkozy, negotiated a ceasefire agreement on 12 August.

Russian forces temporarily occupied the Georgian cities of Zugdidi, Senaki, Poti,
and Gori, holding on to these areas beyond the ceasefire. The South Ossetians
destroyed most ethnic Georgian villages in South Ossetia and were responsible for
an ethnic cleansing of Georgians. Russia recognised the independence of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia from Georgia on 26 August; in response, the Georgian government
severed diplomatic relations with Russia. Russia mostly completed its withdrawal of
troops from undisputed parts of Georgia on 8 October. In the aftermath, Russia's
international relations were largely unharmed.[citation needed] The war displaced
192,000 people and while many returned to their homes after the war, 20,272 people,
mostly ethnic Georgians, remained displaced as of 2014. Russia has, since the war,
occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia in violation of the ceasefire agreement of
August 2008.[32]

Contents [hide]
1 Background
1.1 History
1.2 Russian interests and involvement
1.3 Unresolved conflicts
1.4 Relations between Georgia and the West
2 Prelude
2.1 AprilJuly 2008
2.2 Early August
3 Large-scale conflict
3.1 Battle of Tskhinvali
3.2 Bombing and occupation of Gori
3.3 Abkhaz front
3.4 Occupation of Poti
3.5 Bombing of Tbilisi
3.6 Media and cyber war
4 Ceasefire agreement
5 Aftermath
5.1 Russian withdrawal
5.2 Recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia
5.3 International monitors
5.4 Geopolitical impact
6 Humanitarian impact and war crimes
7 Reactions
7.1 International reactions
7.2 NATO reaction in the Black Sea
8 Combatants
8.1 Georgian order of battle
8.2 Russo-South Ossetian-Abkhaz order of battle
8.3 Military analysis
8.3.1 Georgia
8.3.2 Russia
8.4 Equipment losses and cost
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Background
Main article Background of the Russo-Georgian War
See also GeorgianOssetian conflict and GeorgiaRussia relations
History
In the 10th century AD, Georgia for the first time emerged as an ethnic concept in
the territories where the Georgian language was used to perform Christian rituals.
After the Mongol invasions of the region, the Kingdom of Georgia eventually was
broken up into several kingdoms and principalities. In the 19th century, the
Russian Empire gradually annexed the Georgian lands. In the aftermath of the
Russian revolution, Georgia declared its independence on 26 May 1918.[33]

The Ossetian people are indigenous to North Ossetia, located in the North Caucasus.
[34] Controversy surrounds the date of Ossetian arrival in Transcaucasia. According
to one theory, they first migrated there during the 13th and 14th centuries AD,[35]
and lived alongside the Georgians peacefully for centuries.[36] In 1918, conflict
began between